


relax and live

by NarutoDays (DAYS8)



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkwardness, Beach House, F/M, Fluff, Football | Soccer, Summer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-03-08
Packaged: 2019-10-27 10:54:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17765456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DAYS8/pseuds/NarutoDays
Summary: Waves at high tide, roaring as they sweep against the sand.The salty breeze rustling the palms above.Her friends, gasping when they spot a shooting star.She thinks this is the moment she'll remember forever.A fluff fic.Rated T for language and teenage thoughts.





	1. Clack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was meant to be an extra-long, nostalgic one shot, but instead, I'm going to break it into chapters because I just want to share it already :)  
> Chapters will be inconsistent in length and content.
> 
> Please enjoy the NaruHina!

Sakura is looking at her, excitedly, expectantly.

She smiles as she hums in thought.  “I think I can go. I can’t stay for all of Saturday, but I can do Friday night and Saturday morning.”

Her veridian eyes light up in joy.  “Great! We can all go down together when school ends!”

“Okay,” she nods.  “Thank you for inviting me,” she adds, considering that she and Sakura had only gotten close this school year.  “Who else is going?”

“I’m inviting Ino, Kiba, and Choji…”  Sakura counts off on her fingers.

 _Boys are coming!_  Hinata tries to not look as surprised as she feels.  Sakura is more confident than she is, less shy and reserved.  It really shouldn’t be a surprise. But to a sleepover at a beach house...

At least she’s close friends with Kiba.  And Choji is really nice.

“And I’m inviting Karui and Fuu.”

Hinata nods.  She met them for the first time during Winter Break at Sakura’s Christmas party.  They’re close friends of Sakura, who plays soccer with them.  “That will be nice.  The last time I saw them was...when we all went shopping during Spring Break?”

Sakura nods, remembering the occasion.

“How are they doing?”

“They’re doing well… A couple of weeks ago, they invited me to watch their school’s boys’ soccer game after our own game was over.  And they introduced me to a couple of their friends on the team.”  Sakura has a light blush dusting her cheeks.

She has a feeling she knows where this is going.  “...and?” she prompts, trying hard to not giggle at Sakura’s expression.

“I’m inviting them to the party...”

Hinata can feel herself catching that slightly silly, giddy feeling whenever they talk about boys.  “Oh?”  She smiles knowingly.

“One of them is really, really cute.  His name is Sasuke, and he’s...he’s so cool.  He scored so many goals, like when he took off down the field, no one could keep up with him.  It was like the ball was magnetized to his foot,” she recounts with stars in her eyes.

“Hm,” Hinata affirms.  “He sounds really good.”  She’s not just saying that to say that.  Hinata’s watched many a soccer game due to Hanabi’s involvement in sports, so she can kind of imagine what it takes to be the forward.

Sakura nods seriously.  

“So...you like him?” Hinata asks in a hushed tone.

“Maybe?  We all went out to eat lunch afterwards, and...yeah...we’ve been texting each other a little.  He’s not very talkative, so I don’t know if I’m bothering him, but I’m trying not to come off as flirty or anything.”

She gives Sakura an understanding nod.

“I want to get to know him better, so I decided to invite him to my end-of-year party, but I didn’t know if that would be too weird since we just met, so I’m also inviting his friend.”

“What’s his friend’s name?”

“Naruto.”

“Oh.”  Hinata pauses to think about it.  She tilts her head in a question.

“Yeah, weird.  I don’t know who would name their child the same as kamaboko.”

Hinata doesn’t like to badmouth anyone, so she just tightens her lips as a form of agreement.  “...What’s Naruto like?”

“He’s good, too.  He’s a forward like Sasuke.  He seems nice, I don’t know.  He’s kind of excitable, like Fuu...he seems to be the kind of guy who takes the butt of everyone’s jokes.”

“Oh.”  Hinata gets the feeling that Sakura’s trying to describe him in a “nice” way.  “Well, it’ll be nice to meet them. I want to see what kind of guy is good enough to catch your attention.”

“Oh, stop,” Sakura laughs, as if it’s not a big deal that she turned down three guys and one girl in the past school year.

“And it’ll definitely be nice to relax at the beach when our finals are over.”  Hinata smiles dreamily at this thought.

“For _sure_.  Gods, I can’t wait for summer break to start.”  

 

It’s officially the end of finals.  She grabs whatever last notebooks she still had in her locker and shuts it.  The clack of the metal is the most satisfying sound, and she won’t miss it. She crosses the hallway to Sakura and Ino.  “Ready to go?”

Sakura slings her tote bag over her shoulder with a nod.

Ino throws her hands up and around their shoulders.  “Let’s gooo!!!!”

 

It’s that pure feeling, of a weight completely lifting off her shoulders and now, it’s just open, blue sky and sunshine awaiting her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	2. Seabirds Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please enjoy the NaruHina :)

The drive to Nishi Shore is like heading into another part of the world.  Sure it’s only a little over an hour away, but the landscape changes swiftly from glinting corporate buildings to busy suburbs, to sprawling military bases, to quiet farmlands.  On either side of the highway, coffee farms stretch seemingly to the base of the mountains, and Hinata knows they’re getting close.

“Ahhh there it is!!!” Sakura exclaims with a wistful expression, leaning forward, pointing to the horizon.

Peeking out between the rolling fields is the glimmer of sapphire ocean.  

“Alright!” Kiba cheers from the back.  

“Yup, just 20 more minutes everyone,” Sakura’s mother informs.

“Yes! ...Oh, they’re there already…”  Sakura has her phone out, texting back.

“Your friends from Konoha?” Ino wonders aloud, peering over.

“..Yeah...oh, they’re calling me…Hello?...Yeah, that’s the one.  Just block the driveway...Umm, we’re about 20 minutes away, so I don’t know, you guys can, like, climb over the fence or something and hangout in the back…”  Sakura laughs.  “No, the neighbors are all timeshares, too, so I don’t think you have to worry...Yup!  See you guys soon!”

“Was that the dashing and mysterious Sasuke?” Ino asks with a raised brow.

“No, shut up, Ino!  That was just Karui!”

“Who’s Sasuke?  Your boyfriend?”  Kiba leans against his seatbelt, trying to get in on the conversation.

“No!  He’s not!  Okay, he’s just a friend!” Sakura explains, frazzled.

“But she wants him to be…” Ino trails out, though loud enough for everyone to hear.

Hinata giggles quietly at this.

“Oh my gosh!  Shut up!!” Sakura looks like she wants to physically wack Ino, but she can’t because she’s sitting shotgun.  

Her mother looks at her.  “Hm? Tell me more about this Sasuke.”

The pinkette groans.  “He’s just a friend.”

“Ohh, okay,” her mother says, sounding unconvinced.

Sakura shakes her head as everyone else laughs.  

 

“They really climbed over…” Sakura murmurs as they pull up to the beach house.  She jumps out of the car, allowing a breeze of salt-filled air in. She unlocks the gate and jogs to the back of the house.

Hinata looks out the car window at the house that Sakura’s family timeshares with three other families.  It’s a two-story with a plain off-white paint that shows its age. But the steps have charming latticework along the bottom and the roof has cute, carved wood detail curling along the edge.  Above the door hangs a little wooden sign saying, “Welcome!”  It’s an adorable beach house, albeit a little worn looking.  But it’s really the land that matters.  By some luck, Sakura’s family has a select spot right along the famed Nishi Shore.  

When Sakura comes back around, a boy with unruly blonde hair and a rascal grin is with her, yelling something indiscernible at the people he left behind.  He nods at Sakura before running to his car.

“You think that’s Sasuke?” Ino mutters to Hinata next to her.

Hinata watches him hop into his truck.  He looks “cool,” but he doesn’t seem to have the quiet demeanor Sakura suggested Sasuke has.  If judging by his bright creamsicle and turquoise boardshorts is anything to go by.  “That might be the other boy she invited...Naruto…”  Hinata expected Naruto to give off a “pink” aura, like the swirly kamaboko.  She doesn’t really know what that meant to her, but this Naruto, if that boy really is Naruto, doesn’t match up to whatever she had unknowingly assumed he would look like.

“Naruto?  I don’t think she told me what the other boy’s name was.  Naruto, huh.  Weird name,” Ino comments, sounding bored already.  She perks up suddenly, a gleam in her eyes. “Listen guys, let’s try to get Sakura and Sasuke alone somehow.”

Sakura’s mother clears her throat.  “Ahem, not on my watch.”

“C’mon Aunty Mebuki!” Ino whines.  “Unless we push her, she’ll stay single _forever_ , she’ll _never_ get married, and you and Uncle Kizashi will _never_ have grandkids!”  Ino’s not actually their niece, but she practically grew up with Sakura, so she almost is.

The older woman frowns as she drives up into the garage.  “It’s a little _early_ to be thinking about grandkids.  Graduate first, then date,” Mebuki concludes, as if her word is law for everyone in the car.

It’s a sentiment Hinata is familiar with.  She has few things in common with Sakura, actually, besides the fact that they both had somewhat strict upbringings, resulting in them both being in the same honors classes.  

“Hm,” Ino huffs, already unbuckling as Mebuki shuts off the engine.  

The blonde boy is hanging around, watching them climb out of the car.

Ino marches up to him, extending her hand.  “I’m Ino Yamanaka.”

Hinata follows her shyly, silently noting how Ino never fails to introduce herself with her whole name.  She’s wondered if she’s trying to get recognition for her family’s floral business, the biggest on the island.

The boy’s smile spreads wide, his astoundingly blue eyes crinkling.  “I’m Naruto Uzumaki!”  The timbre of his voice is somewhat gritty, but the pitch and tone can only be described as energetic.  He shakes her hand.

Hinata wonders what _his_ reasons might be for introducing himself with his full name, and what that would say about him.

“Pleased to meet cha,” Ino says, cooly.  “Sakura and I go way back.”

He nods.  “Cool, cool, we’ve met two times now, so, y’know, we’re pretty tight, too.”

Ino quirks a brow at his sarcasm, but Hinata almost giggles, stifling it in a smile.

“She thinks I’m funny!”  He turns his grin (that still looks entirely rascal) to her.  “What’s your name?”

“I’m Hinata.”

“Hi, Hinata.  Nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” she says in return, giving him a shy smile.  She can’t help but think that everything about this boy is bright. His smile, his voice, his attitude.  The type of personality she doesn’t really know how to approach.  But she likes people like that, and hangs out with people like that more than even she would expect.  Sakura, Ino, Karui, Fuu, and Kiba are all bright, outgoing types.

They all turn to the car to unload their trip essentials, and Naruto goes up to Kiba and Choji, exchanging handshakes and introducing themselves.

At this point, the other three Konoha students come around, lugging their bags, and the noise level doubles.

“You guys couldn’t at least bring my stuff, too?” Naruto whines.

“What, no, carry it yourself!” Karui scolds.

“I drove us all the way out here!” he argues back.

Hinata tunes out their bickering when she spots seafoam hair.  “Fuu!”

“HinataaaaaaahhhhhhHH!!!!” Fuu cries out, her voice rising an octave.  She runs over, both hands waving in the air.  She hugs Hinata enthusiastically, her feet dancing on the ground.  “Oh, it’s _so good_ to see you again!”

“It’s good to see you again, too,” Hinata breathes out, blushing slightly at her greeting.  Fuu is a special kind of girl, the type that makes you feel like you actually matter.  Is it weird to think that if she were gay, she would fall for her?

“Inoo!!!  Get over here, girl!  It’s been so long!”

Ino places her designer bags down carefully at the door, but then quickly joins them.  “Fuu! How’re you doing!”

“Wonderful now that school is over!”

“Oh my gods, I _know_.  Thank goodness next year is our last year.”

Fuu nods, her amber eyes aglitter.  “Let’s swim our stresses away!”

“You can swim, you know I’m not the type to,” Ino laughs.  

“You’ll go in the water with me, right?” Fuu asks Hinata.

She nods.  She’s not looking forward to showing herself in her swimsuit to guys she doesn’t know, but they _are_ at Nishi Shore.  “I’ve been dreaming about it ever since Sakura invited me,” she shares, allowing herself to get swept into Fuu’s enthusiasm.    

“Hey, so is that the dashing, mysterious Sasuke that Sakura’s been going on about?” Ino asks quietly, her eyes flicking over in the direction of a dark-haired boy standing by Naruto and Karui.  

“Dashing and mysterious?” Fuu repeats.  “Well, that is Sasuke. He’s not so much dashing and mysterious.  He’s just shy,” Fuu giggles.  “He’s kind of like you, Hinata.”

This peaks more of her curiosity about the boy.  “Really?”

“Only his shyness and quietness.  Naruto annoys him too much and then that’s where the similarities end.  He can be really mean if he wants to be.”  She shrugs, signalling she’s done talking about him.  “It’s hot out here, let’s go inside.”

The interior of the house is like the outside, not exactly anything fancy.  A surplus of plastic chairs and tables are stacked against the far wall by the screen door leading out to the backyard, and there are practically five different couches of varying styles lining the walls or sitting in the middle of the living room.  The flooring is simply tile.  There’s no carpet to speak of anywhere. An old, boxy television sits in a lonely corner.  It probably hasn’t been turned on in ages.  The adjacent shelf is stuffed with old board games, like Risk, Candy Land, Checkers, Scrabble, Connect Four, among others.  The kitchen is completely open with a large island, though it’s a bit small and all of the countertops are some kind of laminate, and there isn’t really a dining room.  Stools line the island, suggesting that people just eat there.

“‘Kay guys, read the house rules,” Sakura orders, directing their attention to a poster next to the entryway.

**Welcome to Umidori no Ie!**

**For all guests to enjoy their stay, please abide by the house rules.**

 

  * ****Take shoes and sandals off at the door.****


  * **Shut the door upon leaving or entering.**


  * **Upon arrival, check all rooms for security.**


  * **Turn on electricity.**



 

**Upon leaving,**

 

  * ****Bring in any furniture from outside.****


  * **Spray down the lanai with the hose.**


  * **Sweep out or vacuum the living room.**


  * **Mop the floors.**


  * **Wash all dishes and put away in the cupboards.**


  * **Clean out the refrigerator.**


  * **Take your trash with you.**


  * **Unplug all appliances.**


  * **Turn off electricity.**


  * **Secure all windows and doors.**



 

The poster continues to explain how to find the electrical box and which switches to press.  

“Hey, does this place got Wifi?” Kiba asks.

“No,” Sakura replies curtly.  “We’re here to relax and live the beach life!  Just use your own data if you want to use the Internet that badly.”

“I have a hotspot if you need it.”

The voice is surprisingly deep for their age, and Hinata unwittingly turns a bit abruptly to see where it came from.  

“Oh, thanks, man, but it’s fine,” Kiba replies.

Sasuke notices her alarm.

It’s embarrassing.  Especially when she notices that he’s shockingly good-looking, like an overseas boyband idol.  She averts her eyes.

“Hey, you guys haven’t met, yet, right?  This is Sasuke,” Naruto jabs unceremoniously at the boy.

“Sasuke, these are my friends from school, Ino, Hinata, Kiba, and Choji.  Kiba plays soccer like us and Choji does wrestling,” Sakura introduces.

“Yo,” Kiba calls out.

“Nice to meet you,” Choji says.

Hinata and Ino give friendly enough hellos, both girls secretly trying to figure out the boy that has caught Sakura’s affections.

Sasuke gives a short “Hi.”  

“Ehhh, don’t bother with this guy, he’s socially awkward,” Naruto teases nonchalantly.

Sasuke gets righteously offended, his handsome face twisting with embarrassment.  “Well, stay away from this guy, he’ll make you stupid.”

“AND-”  Sakura cuts in.  “Kiba, Choji, this is Karui and Fuu.  They’re my club soccer teammates.”

They exchange friendly hellos.  

“Alright, now that everyone’s properly acquainted, help me put the food my mom brought into the fridge...Actually, Choji and Kiba, can the two of you start taking that table and chairs outside onto the lanai?”

“Want us to help with that?” Naruto volunteers.

“Um, can you guys actually check the upstairs and make sure everything looks okay?  I thought my mom was doing that, but I think she went outside to turn on the electricity.”

“Sure thing!”

The two disappear up the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any guesses on what beach I'm writing about? ^^  
> Also, I love Fuu. I really wish she hadn't died in the anime :(


	3. Nishi Shore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please enjoy the NaruHina!

Pulling up the blinds, Naruto stares out the window of the master bedroom.

Cerulean waves crest white against hidden reef.  The ocean extends out, a deep blue against the bright sky.  Farther down along the beach, where there’s public parking, he can see other people swimming in the shallows.  

It’s unbelievable to him that he gets to stay the night along the Nishi Shore.  This must be the life of luxury, right? “Hooo, look at this view!” he exclaims.

“Idiot, we were just outside.”

“So?  It’s different from up here.”  He turns around to see Sasuke looking thoughtfully at the room.

It’s not much of a master bedroom, not really.  There’s no large bed.  The room is actually stuffed with two bare bunk beds and a large couch that might be a fold-out.

They peek into the master bathroom.  Everything is rather old-fashioned, which contributes to the laid-back beach vibe of the house.  The tub is surrounded by a solid, pale blue, plastic wall all the way up to the ceiling.  Little picture frames hang across from the toilet holding typical paintings of seashells.

“It’s blue,” Naruto comments.

“Hn,” Sasuke affirms.  

Before leaving, they slide open the closets for good measure.  They take a look at the guest bedrooms. One of them has one large bed.  

“I guess this is where Sakura’s mom is going to be sleeping,” Naruto observes.

Sasuke nods.  

“...It’s really nice that she invited us, even though we just met her,” Naruto continues, though he’s repeating this sentiment not for the first time.  

“Yeah…” Sasuke agrees.

He keeps saying that it was really nice of her, but it’s actually his way of trying to figure out the pinkette.  “What do you think of her?”

“...Of Sakura?”

“Yeah.”

Sasuke shrugs.  “She seems cool.”

“Karui said she’s, like, a genius.”

“Hm.”

“You’ve been texting with her, haven’t you?  You guys flirting?”

Sasuke grimaces, looking at the blonde.  “No, she’s not...flirting...with me.”

“So you’re flirting with her?” he pushes.

Sasuke’s eyes bug out a little.  “No, idiot.  We’re not flirting.”

“Then what do you guys talk about?”

Sasuke shrugs again.  “I don’t know…”

Naruto stares at his best friend.  They’re definitely flirting.  The fact that Sasuke is even texting her back is saying something.  He decides to drop it for now until he has more to tease him about.  He’ll definitely collect good material over the course of the party.

They head back downstairs, and he can see the girls digging through their bags.  Ino and Hinata seem like polar opposites.  The tall blonde being a little intimidating.  But he’s used to that.  Karui has practically desensitized him to girls with attitude. The dark-haired girl seems shy and quiet.  He’s certain he’s seen her somewhere before, but he can’t put his finger to it.  Sakura just seems normal to him so far.  All three of them are pretty, and if he had to say it, he’d think Sakura is easiest on the eyes, but she’s off-limits.  “All clear,” he reports.

“Thank you,” Sakura smiles, her eyes shifting from him to Sasuke.

In his peripherals he can see Sasuke shifting his feet uncomfortably.

They definitely have something between them.

Fuu suddenly comes popping out into the living room from the guest bathroom, dressed in only a little white bikini that accentuates her tan skin.  “The ocean is calling for me~” she sings as she runs to her bag, pulling out sunscreen.

“Oh, we’re going down already?!” he asks, his brain automatically tuning in to Fuu’s wavelength.  

“Well, I’m going down!!  You coming with?”

“Yeah!”  He pulls off his shirt, no shame, and leaves it over his bag.  “Ugh, I forgot sunscreen!”

“Here,” Fuu calls, the only word of warning before she tosses her bottle over to him.

Thankfully, he catches it.  

Kiba and Choji pull open the screen door.  Choji has a bag of potato chips open.

“Woo, it’s hot outside.  You guys going down already?” Kiba asks.

“Got to get in our beach time before the sun sets!  Plus, Hinata can’t stay all day tomorrow.”  Sakura pulls off her dress, and Naruto decides to focus hard on rubbing in the lotion.  

Especially as it seems the other girls begin following suit.  Looking at Fuu is one thing, she’s flat like a board.  And she told him half a year ago that she’s gay, right when he started to think maybe he had a thing for her.  He can tell Karui and Ino have bodies, and he doesn’t want to be caught staring.  He focuses on getting his back.

“Hinata, what do you gotta do tomorrow?  Kenpo?”

Naruto listens in to the conversation between Hinata and Kiba, mildly surprised that a girl like her does karate.  Maybe she’s not as quiet as she looks.  It strikes him again that he’s pretty sure he’s seen her from somewhere.  He chances a look at her, trying to confirm his suspicions.  She still has her blouse on.  Zero connections come to mind.  Maybe he doesn’t know her. “Thanks, Fuu.”  He tosses the sunscreen back to her.

“No, problem!  You ready?”

“Yeah…race you?”

“You’re on!”

“Oh gods, too much energy,” Karui mutters lowly.

He laughs and leaves the house with Fuu.  

The backyard is rather spacious.  The perimeter is marked with large bushes that can grow in the sand and a little gate at the end leads to steps down to the beach.  

“Race you from the steps to the water?” Fuu challenges.

“I’m not giving chance.”

“Like I need chance,” she retorts.

The two ready themselves on the steps.

“Ready, set, go!” Naruto yells.  

They jump off the stairs, their feet hitting the pearly sand.

“Oh, FUCK, it’s hooottt!!!” he screams, his feet flying, kicking up grains that sting the back of his legs.

“Ahhhhh!!!  Oh helllll!” Fuu agrees in an equally strangled scream.

The two race to the water with new motivation burning the soles of their feet.

Naruto drops his towel midway, then sprints to the wet sand, his feet automatically rejoicing as a wave sweeps over his toes.  He lets out a sigh of relief as he runs into the next wave.  Then he cackles a laugh at Fuu.  “I beat you,” he teases, as he submerges himself to treading.

“Yeah, whatever.”  Fuu heads in deeper, her head ducking down beneath the water.  She pops out farther away.  “CAREFUL, THE SAND IS HOT!” she hollers back at the beach.

Naruto turns to see the rest of the group gingerly gathering at the steps.  

“WE ALREADY HEARD!!” Karui yells back.  

Naruto bursts out laughing and can hear Fuu’s giggling, too.

Fuu swims back to the shore, and he follows her.  

“Damn,” she whispers.

“What?” he asks, wondering if she hit a rock or something in the water.

“Wowza, DAMN!” Fuu yells with a brilliant smile.  Her attention is directed at the shore.  “Look at you!!”

Hinata comes down to the water in a weird, pained skip.  “Ach, ouch, eek,” she vocalizes.

“Dang, Hina, how did you get such big boobs?!” Fuu asks cheerfully.

Naruto freezes upon realizing that his gaze is directly on the nice body part in question.  

She’s wearing a retro looking navy two-piece that provides a bit more skin coverage, but it doesn’t do much to hide her cleavage.  

It’s more than he’s ever seen.  He blinks rapidly down at the water, trying to clear his head, then diverts his attention to Sasuke, who’s acting like the sand is not a big deal, sauntering down to the ocean at his own pace.  Usually he likes Fuu’s bluntness and potty mouth.  Not at this moment.  It couldn’t be more awkward.

She squeals in embarrassment, her arms flying up to cover herself.  “Fuu!”

Naruto doesn’t know what to do except give the poor girl an apologetic look and awkwardly rub the back of his neck to show how embarrassed he is, too.  

Fuu just laughs, turning slightly.  “Sorry! I didn’t realize you were right behind me, Naruto!”  She doesn’t sound sorry at all.

Naruto sighs, shaking his head.  He decides to act like what just happened, didn’t happen.  “Have I seen you somewhere before?  You look really familiar.”

“What is that, a lame pick-up line?” Fuu giggles.  

Hinata is a shade of red he didn’t think was possible.  

“No!  I’m serious!  I feel like I’ve seen you from somewhere!”

His friend just keeps laughing, and it ticks him off even more.

“Fuu, cut it out!” he pushes her shoulder, trying to get her away from him.  

“Hey, you guys harassing Hinata?”  Sakura comes wading in, followed by Sasuke.  

“No!” Naruto defends.  “Only Fuu!”

She giggles harder.  

“I was just asking Hinata if I’ve seen her from somewhere!”

“She’s a Hyuuga,” Sasuke says.

“Hyuuga as in..”  The political family?

“Um...my father is Hiashi Hyuuga, the state governor.”   

“Oh!”  He was right.  He still doesn’t know where he’s seen her from before, though.

At this point, Kiba and Choji join them in the waves.  

“You’re trying to think of why she looks familiar?” Kiba asks.

“Hm, you probably saw her from his campaign posters.  Some showed the whole family,” Choji chimes in.

“Ohhh…”  He thinks back to it, remembering the picture of a hardworking, widowed father raising his two daughters on his own.  “Right! So your eye color is real then!”

Sasuke face-palms.  

Fuu bursts out laughing.

Sakura looks incredulous.

Hinata is smiling, nodding.  “Yes…”

“Baha!  Are you an idiot or what?!”  Kiba is pointing at him, laughing harder than necessary.  

Did he say something stupid?  He guesses so.  But it wasn’t really _that_ stupid, was it?  How was he supposed to know eyes could look like hers without color, or rather, color- _less_ contacts?  “Her eyes are really cool and pretty, okay?!  How was I supposed to know?!”

A half-second later, everyone is giving him looks of raised brows and vocalizing “oh”s as if he said something really flirtatious.

“No, like her eye color is very unique, like it’s just a little purple and kinda glowy, and…”

Their voices only get louder.

“Mhm, mhm, alright Naruto, stay away from Hinata, okay,” Fuu says with a teasing grin.

Everyone snickers.

“Argh, you guys!!  Nevermind!”  He sinks down into the water to hide his humiliation and heads back to the shore.  He tiptoe runs over toward Karui and Ino, who are laying in the sun, wearing sunglasses.  He’s a little too upset to care about their bikini-clad bodies.

Both of them turn to him, noticing his unhappy approach.

“Out of the water already?” Karui wonders aloud.

“No.  They’re all being lame and embarrassing me.”  He spreads out his towel and sits there sullenly.

“You probably embarrassed yourself,” Karui replies, unconcerned.  

“Did not.”  

“Alright,” Karui accepts, still unconcerned.  

Naruto sits there for a few seconds silently.  “Isn’t lying out here boring?  You guys are gonna burn yourselves.”

“I don’t burn,” Karui says.  “And if you don’t want to be up here with us, then stop bothering us and go back in the water.”

“Ughhh I can’t go back.”  He buries his face in his hands.  “She probably thinks I’m a creep now.”

“Who?!” Ino asks suddenly, sitting up.

Naruto looks at her cautiously, not sure if he should tell her.  “...Hinata…”

“What’d you do?” Ino pulls her chin down, looking at him over the top of her sunglasses, as if assessing him.

“I didn’t do anything!  I just told her I thought she looked familiar, and it turns out it’s ‘cuz of her dad’s campaign posters, and then I was like, ‘oh, your eye color is real, then,’ and I told her I thought her eyes are nice, and then everyone made a big deal about it!”

Ino grins at him, a bit evilly.  “So you were hitting on her.”

“I wasn’t-!  Ugh!  It wasn’t like that!”  He stands up in indignation, and realizes now that the only place he can go is back in the house, but that would be super lame.  How the hell is he supposed to survive the night with these people.

Shouts reach his ears from the water.  He sees Sakura up on Choji’s shoulders and Fuu up on Sasuke’s.  Choji and Sasuke seem to get their grounding and the two girls start pushing at each other.  “Hey, they’re chicken fighting!”  He turns to Karui and Ino, who are sitting up watching.  “You guys wanna play?”  

“Nah, I’m good from here,” Ino replies.

Karui looks intrigued.  

“Maybe we can wiiiin,” he tries, appealing to Karui’s competitive side.

“I’m in.  Let’s get down there so we don’t miss all the action.  You sure you’re good, Ino?”

“Don’t worry about me,” Ino says, already waving at them to leave.

The two rush down to the water.  

And the shoving is getting intense.  Both girls are slender, skinny types, so it doesn’t look like there’s any weight behind their actions.  However, Sakura turns out to be fiercer.  She grabs onto Fuu’s hands and pulls her down.

“Woohoo!” Sakura cheers.  

Choji ducks down to let her off his shoulders.  

The two high-five.  

“Aw man,” Fuu pouts.  “Hey, it’s not fair since you had Choji as your base!  He’s bigger than Sasuke!”

“Don’t be a sore loser Fuu!” Sakura laughs.  

“We should do it by height or weight or something then,” Kiba suggests.

“Yeah!” Fuu seconds.  

“Fine,” Sakura relents.  “How much do you weigh?”

Naruto looks among the guys, realizing that he might be the smallest one.  He always was shorter than others, and even though he’s grown a lot since intermediate school, so has everyone else.  It’s a sore point he tries to not think about.  He looks at the girls, but he can’t tell in the water who’s the smallest.  Maybe Sakura?  But it would be better if she went with Sasuke.

“Alright!”  Sakura inserts herself between Hinata and Fuu.  “We’re tallest to smallest!”

“Well the idiot over here has always been the shortest,” Sasuke announces.

“Fuck you, asshole.  You’ll regret that one day,” he retorts.  

“Sure,” Sasuke smirks.  

Naruto runs his hand through his hair, realizing that by some stupid karma, he’s been paired with Hinata.  He turns to her awkwardly.  “I’m sorry if I made you feel embarrassed earlier.  Sometimes I just say whatever comes to mind,” he admits sheepishly.

She smiles shyly at him.  “Oh no…”  Her voice really is soft.  “You were just being nice.”

He gets the feeling that she doesn’t interact with guys very much.  She’s not at all the abusive, emotionally (Fuu) and physically (Karui), type of girl he usually befriends.  He feels like he has to be careful around her.  “You ready to win?”

Her smile grows.  “Just because we’re the smallest doesn’t mean we’re the weakest.”

So she has fighting spirit.  He grins widely.  “You’re with Naruto Uzumaki!  We’ll definitely win!”

“Okay,” she easily agrees.

He doesn’t know if she’s just humoring his ego or if she actually believes him, but that doesn’t matter.  Because they’re up first against Sasuke and Sakura.  “You two are going down!  Literally!” he taunts.  He bends down carefully to allow Hinata onto his shoulders, and he grabs onto her legs to help her balance.  He notes that she really isn’t heavy, so maybe they really do have a chance at winning.  He doesn’t think he’ll get tired of holding her up.  He grounds his feet in the sandy bottom.

The two girls start going at it.  

“Ah!”  “Woah!”  “Oh my gosh!” the two girls invariably say, while he and Sasuke are just trying to focus on not falling over.  

Hinata’s legs tighten on his shoulders, and he gets the feeling that she’s really going for it now.  He inches forward to support her efforts, and he starts hearing Sakura yelling more.  He smirks excitedly, seeing Sasuke’s brow furrow in concentration.

Sasuke’s eyes widen as his shoulders pull back.  He twists, and they both topple into the water with a splash.

“Woohoo!!!  Alright!” he cheers, wishing he could’ve seen her in action.  He lets Hinata down and wipes the water from his face to grin at her.

“Yay!!” she’s cheering with her little fists in the air.

“You did it!” he says, honestly a little surprised.  He just thought Hinata seemed too shy to actually attack anything seriously.  

“We did it!” she corrects with an appreciative smile.

“Wow, Hinata!”  Kiba waves his arms like a martial artist.  “Must be the Kenpo!”

She shrugs.  “Maybe.”

“I demand a rematch!” Sakura calls.  “I can’t believe I lost to you!”  Sakura points at Hinata.

Hinata just giggles in response, and Naruto kind of wants to laugh, too.  He was acting confident just to give her confidence, but it looks like he didn’t really need to do that.  She’s not what he expected.

“Well, we’re up next.  You guys can take a break.”  Kiba bends down, allowing Fuu onto his shoulders.

It turns out Choji and Karui are a force to be reckoned with.  Karui easily pushes Fuu down.  The match lasts hardly thirty seconds.  

“Ugh, I’m no good at this,” Fuu cries.  

“Ahh, it’s okay, don’t worry about it,” Kiba comforts.  “Hinata, take her down for us!”

Hinata looks at Naruto with a question in her eyes.

“You wanna?” Naruto asks.

“If you’re okay?…”

“Sure.  I’m ready.”  He turns a smirk at Karui.  “Hinata’s going to kenpo karate the hell out of you guys!”  He raises his brows at Hinata.  “Yeah?”

She nods happily.  

“No, we’re stronger!” Karui taunts back.  “Also, no karate!  That’s cheating!”

“We got this!” Choji encourages enthusiastically.

“Hinata, we’re going to take them down,” he murmurs, feeling alive in the competition.  

The opponents ready themselves.

Three minutes in, Naruto is thankful that his strength has always been stamina.  The two girls seem to be taking their time, trying different things, analyzing each other for weaknesses and openings, only striking when they think they have a chance.

Suddenly, the two girls lock onto each other’s hands in a battle of balance.  

“Go Karui, go!” Sakura cheers.

“Go Hinata!” Fuu yells.

Hinata is clamping around him, and Naruto is glad he already spread his legs to counterbalance her leaning weight.  

“Just give up already!” Karui says.

“No...You give up!” Hinata argues.

“It’s...a tie,” Choji suggests, though he looks pretty undisturbed by the battle above him.

“No, we wanna win!” Karui and Naruto say at the same time.

The tense battle continues, and Naruto for once in his life is unhappy with his weight.  It’s obvious to him that Choji has the stability of a giant rock.

“Ah!” Hinata cries.

Her weight is suddenly against the back of his head, and no amount of holding her legs can save her.  He realizes she must have leaned over too far. He dips down into the water as Hinata falls off of his shoulders.  He can hear Karui and Choji celebrating their victory through the waves, but his attention is focused on the millions of frothy bubbles flying out from Hinata’s form.  He springs back up and unthinkingly grabs her wrist to steady her.  Once she’s on her feet, he asks her, “Hey, you okay?”

She wipes her eyes, nodding.  “Oh man,” she quietly laments.  She pouts a little.  “I’m sorry, I know you wanted to win.”

“Nah, don’t worry.  At least we won one!”

She smiles brightly at this.

He grins back, glad that she seems so easygoing.

“We make a great team!”  Karui’s brash voice brings reality back to him.

And he realizes he’s still holding Hinata’s wrist.  

Hinata notices this, too.

He lets go of her quickly and flattens his hand against his boardshorts under the water.  Not cool at all.  He masks his embarrassment with a smile.  “We made a pretty good team, too!  You lasted pretty long up there against those two giants!”

“Who’re you calling a giant!?” Karui yells.

He laughs.  

Hinata is shaking her head and biting her lips, apparently afraid that Karui might take offense to her, too.

This just makes him laugh more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love platonic NaruFuu.  
> Thank you for reading!


	4. to play for fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please enjoy the NaruHina :)

She’s touched by how _nice_ he is.  He says some mean things, but overall, it’s obvious that he’s joking.  She decides that these are good people.  Sakura’s friends are all good people, and she feels lucky to have the chance to get to know them.

The rest of the afternoon passes quickly with sandcastle and fort-building, and as the sun lowers in the sky, they head up to the backyard.

Hinata looks around self-consciously, wondering if anyone else is going to put their clothes back on.  Of course, as she should have guessed, no one else is heading back to get a shirt.  It’s normal on an island, especially at the beach, to wear just swimsuits, but they’re not _technically_ on the beach.  Not at this moment.  But...she’s sixteen now.  She should stop acting like an insecure preteen.  She swallows her reservations and stands by Ino as Sakura grabs a soccer ball from the house.

“How should we split up the teams?” Kiba wonders aloud.  He looks around.  “You playing, Ino?”

The blonde hums in thought.  “Hinata, are you playing?”

She hadn’t gotten a chance to think about it.  She was so concerned about her body, she didn’t consider if she wanted to play soccer.  She looks around at the others who are probably playing.  Her gaze catches on Naruto, who’s raising his brows and nodding slightly in encouragement.  “Umm, yes…” she finds herself saying.  “I think I will.”

Ino quirks a brow.  “Even with all of these soccer players?  You don’t think it will be too intense?”

“We won’t play seriously,” Kiba assures.

“Yeah, we’ll just be playing for fun!” Fuu adds.

“Do soccer players even know what it means to play for fun?” Ino questions.

“What, you scared to play against me?” Sakura suddenly laughs, inserting herself into the conversation as she slides the door closed.

“Psh, no, you wish.  Fine, I’m playing,” Ino decides.

“Yeah!” Sakura cheers.

“Make sure you guys go easy on me and Hinata.”  Ino begins tying her hair up into a high ponytail, which only serves to make her look intimidating.

As she expected, she gets separated from Ino.  They divide up the teams according to ability and skill.  Hinata finds herself with Sakura, Kiba, and Sasuke.  On the other team is Ino, who insisted she would be of no help, Fuu, Karui, Choji, and Naruto.  Hinata can’t help feeling a little sad about going against Naruto.  She peeks at him across the yard, and his eyes suddenly turn toward her, widening slightly upon finding her gaze.  It sends a shock of surprise through her chest, like her heart got lodged in her throat.  She can’t stop the inevitable blush that she can feel on her cheeks.  She embarrasses way too easily.  It’s a character flaw that she doesn’t quite know how to get rid of.

He averts his gaze, his jaw working like he knows he saw something he shouldn’t have.  Or worse.  Like he’s thinking about what just happened.

Awkward.

She didn’t really mean anything by it.  She just thought he seems nice.  Plus...he’s kind of cute...doesn’t help that it looks like he goes to the gym, too...  She looks down at the ground, working her feet into the grass, wishing the game would start already.

But Sakura is marking the “goals” with a few extra chairs at the ends of the yard.  “Alright! Let’s get started!”  She and Fuu “rock, paper, scissors” to decide who gets the ball first.

Sakura expertly passes the ball to Sasuke, who starts weaving through Fuu and Karui, his feet fast and...tricky...is how Hinata would describe it.  He comes head-to-head with Naruto, who eventually steals the ball away from him.  Naruto kicks the ball to Karui, and everything so far to Hinata seems a little too fast-paced for “fun.”

But she tries anyway.  She hovers nearer to the goal, some steps away from Kiba, who usually acts as defence or goalie.  She watches Karui avoid Sakura’s footwork by passing the ball to Fuu.

Well, she wants to try.  She can’t figure out how or where to step in and help.  Ino and Choji seem to feel similarly, standing back and watching the rest of them play.  

Kiba intercepts Fuu’s shot and suddenly, terrifyingly, passes the ball to her.  She wants to say, “No, no!” but she reminds herself that she wanted to play.  And she really does want to.  She has the ball at her toes, looking around for help.

Everyone stays back, giving her a chance.  That’s nice.  She passes the ball to Sakura, who starts working it back.  Sakura tries to pass it to Sasuke, but Karui steals it.  Sasuke is on her immediately, but Karui turns and passes it toward Naruto, who was completely open.  

After watching so many soccer games, she should have known.  If she wants to make herself useful, she should try...getting in the way.  She runs up to meet Naruto’s swift approach, and she tries to stick her foot “in there,” but he does more of that fancy footwork she saw Sasuke doing earlier.  She can’t help letting out sounds of confusion and frustration.

He laughs, turning around easily and going around her.

She frowns.  He laughed.  At her.  He laughed at her.  She’s oddly embarrassed, even though she knows that they have years of experience playing with the ball and she doesn’t.

He takes the ball down and after some difficulty against Kiba, passes the ball to Fuu, who scores quickly.  

She purses her lips in disappointment.  Rather than getting salty, she should have gone back to support Kiba.  

Amidst her thoughts, Naruto suddenly comes up to her with a sheepish look.  “Sorry.”

“Huh?”  She blinks up at him.

“I guess I didn’t go too easy on you.”

Hinata doesn’t really know what to say.  Because as far as she can tell, he didn’t.

“But you weren’t making it easy for me, either.  I wasn’t expecting you to come at me like that.”  He grins, and, strangely, it makes her feel like she did a good job.

“Oh…”  She bites her lips, a part of her wondering at her nervousness.

“Keep doing what you’re doing,” he quietly encourages, looking away, realizing that everyone is starting the play.

She worries her lip more.  “Okay,” she says to his retreating form.

He turns back to her and smiles brightly.

After that, the game gets fun.  Choji and Ino start trying more, too, but once Sakura and Sasuke started feeling each other out, the two of them get incredibly in sync, assisting each other in goal after goal.  Hinata realizes that Kiba can easily handle the defence on his own, so she starts making it her responsibility to “put herself in the way.”  She makes a challenge for Karui and Naruto, and even manages to steal the ball once from him.

He lets out a surprised “Ha!” when she taps the ball away from him and passes it far enough for Kiba to steer away toward Sasuke.  He watches the ball go for a second and then looks at Hinata with furrowed brows and a smile.

“Hm?” she asks innocently, finding it difficult to hide her victorious smile.

He sighs.  He tilts his head, obviously in thought, and then seems to make an expression of “whatever.”  He smiles _that_ smile, the mischievous one.  “You should join my team.”

She stares at him, the words processing.  “Oh” is all she’s able to reply.

He smirks.  “How about it, huh?”

She tilts her head, confused, and shakes her head slowly.

“Aw shucks.  It was worth a shot.”  He shrugs and smiles, rascal, and runs away.

She watches him rejoin the game, her stomach suddenly flip-flopping, like butterflies are clamoring inside of her.  She blushes, confused and charmed, finding herself heating up so bad, she hardly knows what to do with herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	5. Masculinity points

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please enjoy the NaruHina!

She’s so...girly.  And then she’s not...girly.  Is that sexist of him to think that way?  Whatever it is, it has him playing this immature game of trying to get reactions out of her.  He supposes he kind of likes her.  He does this with anyone he finds himself vibing with.  He likes trying to get into people’s heads.  He likes pushing people to feel uncomfortable, just to see how they react.  He admits he’s a little bit of a troll.  Maybe a lot of a troll…

He glances over at her when Fuu takes the ball and sees the bluenette looking a little dazed.  Maybe he shouldn’t do that to her.  Tease her.  Each time he’s done or said something to her, her reaction has always been pretty muted so far.  It makes him feel a little bad.

She’s not at all like Karui or Fuu.  Not even Sakura, from what he can tell.  He wondered if there was a hidden angry girl in her...but…hm.  Seems like there isn’t.  It looks like he’s just embarrassing her, but it’s pretty cute…

It’s cute when she blushes, like she has no control over her body temperature.  

It’s funny.

Cute, too, how she runs…

Hm.

“Woohoo!” Sakura cheers.  She claps Sasuke, Kiba, and Hinata’s hands.  “We wo~n!” she sings.

“Oh, was that six goals already?” he asks, realizing that he wasn’t exactly paying attention.

“Yup!  Losers gotta be in charge of the grill!” Sakura cheers.

“What?!  I didn’t know there was a penalty!” he argues, half-joking and half-serious.

“Eh, I don’t mind,” Choji says.  “I’m pretty handy with the grill.”

He frowns, feeling like some masculinity-points just got taken away from him.  “Yeah, it’s fine, I’ll help, too,” he backtracks quickly.  “You and me, man.”

“Oooh, look at the sunset!” squeals Fuu.  “I need to take pictures!”  She scampers inside, followed quickly by the other girls.  They emerge just as quickly with phones in hand and head back down to the beach.

He turns to Choji, who already found the grill and the coal.  “You’re getting it started already?” he asks.  “You don’t want to see the sunset?”

“I just want to get the coals going.  And I don’t know about you, but I’m _starving_.”  He starts scooping the charcoal into the grill.

Naruto helps him pile them in, noting that Sasuke and Kiba went to join the girls.  He feels lame about wanting to go with them, especially since Choji seems completely unbothered.  Choji seems like a pretty cool guy.  Really laid back and easygoing.  He decides to try some conversation.  “How long have you known Sakura?”

Choji dusts his hands off.  “For a long time.  But we’re not really close.  I was surprised that she invited me... I actually grew up with Ino.  So that’s how I met Sakura.”  He shrugs and walks over to the hose, finding the coal staining his fingers.

“I was surprised she invited me, too, since I only just met her a few weeks ago.”  

Choji nods.  “Kiba was surprised, too, to be invited.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“He’s not especially close with Sakura, either.  He’s in Hinata’s group of friends.  I think she just invited me and him so that Ino and Hinata would feel comfortable with you guys.”

“Oh.”  So Kiba is Hinata’s friend.  He turns the information over in his head.  She completely came off to him as someone inexperienced with boys… He guesses not.  He washes his hands after Choji and turns to see that the big guy conjured a BBQ lighter from somewhere.  

Choji flares it over the coals until they start burning.  “Still, it’s nice to know that she likes me.  She has a reputation at our school for being ‘unattainable’.”  He laughs a bit at this.

“Who, Sakura?” he asks, his brain not quite keeping up with the conversation.

Choji nods.

“Huh.”  Naruto considers the pinkette.  A genius.  Attractive at first glance.  And he supposes, second glance, too.  “Well, Sasuke has that reputation, too.  So I guess they’re a match!”

Choji’s brows raise at that.  “Ino will love to hear that.”

He laughs.  He thinks he might be getting a feel for these Hi no Tera HS students.  “Think we can leave this here while we watch the sunset?”

Choji looks at the grill, assessing it.  “Yeah.  I think it’ll be fine.”

“Awesome.”  Naruto is itching to run to the beach, but Choji takes his sweet time getting his phone.  He tempers his energy and realizes that if Choji were skinnier, he’d probably be considered “cool” like Sasuke.  They both seem to carry themselves at the same pace, with the same kind of collected confidence, except Choji is ten times friendlier... Why is that asshole his best friend again?

He takes the steps down and sees everyone taking pictures of the sunset from different angles.

Sakura and Ino seem to be trying to take Instagram-worthy shots in fake candid poses.  

Fuu and Sasuke seem more interested in taking pictures of the sunset itself.

Karui looks like she’s done taking pictures at this point, and she’s just walking along the water.

He looks around and further down, he spots Hinata standing on a large flat rock.  She’s smiling at Kiba, who’s taking a picture of her.

He ignores the slight knot in his chest and turns his attention to the sunset.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	6. the green flash

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't know, i made this chapter more awkward than the others ><
> 
> but please enjoy the NaruHina!

It’s gorgeous.  Nishi Shore, summer, sunset.  

She feels alive in a way that she hasn’t all year.  

The entire beach is cast in glorious pinks and golds.  The sun melts into the horizon, it’s liquid fire shimmering off the distant ocean waves.  Shades of candlelight and wine tint the clouds into passionate spectators of the sun’s descent.  The last rays glow warmth across everyone’s skin, even lighting her own fair complexion into something vibrant.

She looks at the photo Kiba took of her, amazed at how he was able to capture so much color.  

Of course, the sunset is much better in person.

“Do you want to take a picture together?” she suggests.  

“Sure!”  He turns the camera to selfie mode and snaps a picture of both of them throwing up peace signs.  “Hehe, good one.”

Hinata peeks at it and smiles.  “Send that one to me, please.”

“Doing that right now.”

“Thank you.”

They head back to everyone else, and she notices that Naruto and Choji joined them.  Choji is helping Sakura and Ino take pictures, while Naruto looks engrossed in taking the perfect sunset picture.  

“Ladies’ photo!  Come Karui!” Ino calls.

“Oh, Kiba, could you please take one for me?” Hinata thinks to ask.

“No problem!”

“Thank you!”

“Oh, mine, too, please!” Sakura calls.

“I can do it.”

“Oh, thank you, Sasuke!”  Sakura gets out of line to hand him her phone.

Hinata joins them and gets squished between Fuu and Ino.  The closeness of her friends warms her, wrapping her up in feelings of appreciation.  She smiles brightly, carefree and thankful to have so many wonderful people to share this with.  

“Alright, one, two, three,” Choji counts off.  “And another one...and one more…alright.”  He puts the phone down.

“Thank you!”  “Thank you, Choji!” they chorus.

“Okay, you guys want a picture?” Ino asks.  

The boys look at each other, the two pairs not being well-acquainted, yet.  

“Sure,” Naruto says with a shrug.

“I can take it,” Hinata volunteers.

“Oh, Hinata, just use my phone, and I’ll send it to you guys,” Kiba says, looking at the other three, who agree and thank him.

The guys stand together, crossing their arms over their chests, taking up manly stances.

Hinata bites her lips, looking at the boys.  None of them are really smiling.  More like, smirking?  Is that supposed to be some kind of guy thing?  They would all look better if they were smiling (especially Naruto).  She purses her lips in thought, considering if she should say something.  “Um…”

“Something wrong?” Sakura asks.

The guys look at her wonderingly, and she feels self-conscious to realize they’re _all_ looking at her.  Volunteering was a mistake.  She gulps.  “Could you guys...smile?” she asks, hesitantly.

They blink at her.

Fuu yells, “Yeah!  Smile, guys!  You’re at the _beach_!  It’s summer!  Relax!”

“No, can’t you guys tell they’re going for the cool, suave look?” Ino says, jokingly serious.

“Ohhh,” Karui verbalizes, as if she only just now understood.

Naruto puts a hand on his face, then busts out a sudden laugh.  “I mean, I can smile, I don’t know about this guy!”  He scrunches a teasing look at Sasuke, who mutters a curse at Naruto, causing everyone to laugh.

Hinata focuses the picture and takes shots of them candid.  If you just saw the picture without context, you wouldn’t know it was because they were all laughing from embarrassment.  “Okay, got it,” Hinata says, looking up, pleased.

“Huh?  You took the picture already?” Kiba asks.

“Yup.  You guys can go back to looking...um...cool now.”  

The boys all look away, shaking their heads, thoroughly and obviously uncomfortable.

Hinata tightens her lips apologetically.  She had no intention of embarrassing them, but now it’s quite cute.  “Um, you guys looked good earlier…”  She flushes, realizing how _that_ sounded.  She continues, “I just wanted a picture of you guys smiling, too…”

“Yeah!  Wooh!  Show us the cool, suave-ness!” Fuu cheers.

The boys shake their heads, walking apart.  Obviously picture time is over.

“Sorry…” Hinata apologizes quietly to Kiba as she hands him back the phone.

“Haha,” he laughs, but it lacks any real mirth.  “It wasn’t your fault.  It was more Ino…”  He looks at the shots she got.  “Hey, we look natural at least.”  He shrugs.  “Naruto, Sasuke, gimme your guys’s numbers.”

Naruto peers over at Kiba’s phone.  “I guess in ten years we won’t remember why we’re laughing...”  He sounds unconvinced by his own words.

Hinata only realizes she’s watching him when his blue eyes glance up at her, then dart away quickly.  That makes the second time he caught her looking at him, but it feels unfair.  She really didn’t mean to be looking at him!  She doesn’t mean anything by it!  It’s too late.  She’s blushing.  She turns around, intent on going by someone who won’t make her feel uneasy.

She sits down in the sand beside Sakura, who turns a content smile at her.

“This is the best,” Sakura sighs.

She nods in agreement, watching the florid clouds chase the sinking sun.  Leaning back, she sifts through the warm sand, feeling the grains tumble over her fingers.  It’s the most relaxing feeling.

Everyone else soon joins them as the sun rapidly disappears beyond the ocean.  Too soon, its burning body is nothing but a line on the horizon.

Hinata lets out a breath as everything suddenly seems quieter.

“Did anyone see the green flash?” Kiba calls out, his voice shattering the peace.

“Nope, I’ve never seen it in all my life,” Sakura responds as she gets up, dusting her legs off.

“Isn’t that a myth?” Ino wonders.

“Nah, it’s real, isn’t it?”  Naruto stands, his eyes straining to where the darkening sky meets the ocean.

“If all of us have never seen it, then it must be fake,” Karui concludes.

“I kinda wanna just believe that it’s real, though,” Naruto replies with a frown.  

“Stupid, if it is, it’s probably just an optical illusion anyway.”  Sasuke says from the steps.

“Still, yet, though.  That’s still something.”

Hinata doesn’t think that the green flash is real.  But hearing the idea of _wanting_ to believe that it exists, even as an illusion, just sounded so charmingly innocent.  She smiles, watching him ascend the steps to the house.

“Here, I can look it up on my phone,” Sasuke says.

“What, no, don’t do that.  That takes all the fun out of it!”  Naruto places a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder to stop him, his tone almost panicked.

She can’t help it.  He’s really cute.  She lets out a small laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :)


	7. Naruto: Inspirational, Bright. Hinata: Relaxing, Hot, Cuddly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ever flirted while playing card games? ^^
> 
> Please enjoy the NaruHina!

He hears her giggle, but he doesn’t turn around to verify.  He looks down at the wooden planks as he fights a self-conscious smile.  He can’t help but feel like maybe she likes him...while simultaneously thinking that that’s super egotistical of him to feel that way.

She’s pretty in a distinctive way--dark blue hair, light eyes...nice body.  

It’s natural for him to want her attention, right?  

Because he doesn’t mean anything by it.  They only just met, played a rather touchy game together in the water, and are still in their swim attire.  So… Of course he’s self-conscious. It’s natural.  It’s completely natural, and he can act natural.  He doesn’t mean anything by it.

They get through the gate, and he realizes that Sakura’s mother, and he assumes the man is her father, are cooking kalbi over the grill.

“Dad!  When did you get here?” Sakura asks, running ahead to meet them.

“Oh, about five minutes ago,” the pink-haired man answers.  “Thanks for starting up the grill.”

“That was Choji and Naruto!” she brightly says, turning to them.

He takes that as his cue to come forward with a handshake.  “Hi, I’m Naruto Uzumaki,” he introduces himself.

“You’re from Konoha High School?”

“Yeah, me and Sasuke.”

Sasuke comes up and shakes the man’s hand.  

“Hello, it’s nice to meet both of you.”

“Thank you for inviting us, Mr. and Mrs. Haruno,” Sasuke says politely, and Naruto quickly adds in his thanks, too.

Her parents deflect the appreciation with good-natured ease.

“Did you need help cooking?” Choji asks.

“No, no, you boys go and relax.  We have it here,” the dad says, shooing them away.

Naruto thanks them again and joins everyone else at the tables Choji and Kiba pulled out earlier.  

“Alright, guys!” Sakura announces, holding a stack of board games.  “What’s everyone up for?”

Fuu suddenly stands up, raising her hand like an eager schoolgirl.  “Oh!  Oh!  I brought Apples to Apples!”

The rest of them verbalize their agreements, and hardly less than twenty seconds later, Fuu returns with her party set.  

“Ahh, I might not win this time,” Naruto realizes aloud.  

“Do you usually win?” questions Sakura.

“I don’t _always_ win if I get bad cards, but these guys are easy to play with.  Sasuke likes really literal things.  Fuu likes stupid or weird things.  Karui likes smar-”

“Don’t tell them!”  Karui bops him on the head with her fist.

“Yeah, Naruto!  We might actually have a chance of winning since they don’t know us that well!” Fuu whines.  

“But we don’t know them that well, either,” he points out.  

“Heehee, you mean _you_ don’t know them that well.  I know Sakura, Ino, and Hinata better than _you_ ,” the green-haired girl cackles gleefully.

“Aw damn it, you’re right.”  Naruto frowns and glances over at the Hi no Tera kids.  He starts guessing what they like.  Judging by how Choji just seems to be constantly eating, he’ll probably like food cards.  Kiba seems like the type who likes funny and stupid cards.  That seems like the safe way to go with him.  And if Sakura is as much a genius as they say, she probably doesn’t like stupid or suggestive cards.  She probably likes social justice-y plays.  Hinata totally looks like someone who likes cute, romantic, face-value cards.  Maybe Ino is the same?  She kind of looks like someone who cares about actors and actresses.

He puts his game face on.  He can still win this.

Fuu chooses first.  “‘Kay everyone!  What is _inspirational_?”

Naruto looks through his cards.  He has a throwaway card already.  Who on earth is Colin Powell?  But he has one for Fuu.  Two for her actually.  A French Maid and Black Holes.  She likes science fiction, but she also once told him it’s her dream to eat at a Maid Cafe.  Her _dream_.  Yup, A French Maid it is.  He might save Black Holes for Sasuke.  

Fuu reads her cards.  “Sunset, aww...that’s cute.  Bugs Bunny!  Hmm…”  She places him for safekeeping.  When she flips over his card, he gets the reaction he expected.  “Freench Maaid!!”  She smiles too happily.

“Stupid,” Karui comments.  

“Whaat, they’re so cute!” she exclaims.  She looks at the last few cards, but ultimately goes with the maid.

“Haha!  Yes, that’s mine!”  He reaches out and grabs the Inspirational card.

“Awww man nooo!!!” Fuu regrets.  “I shoulda chosen Bugs.”

“That was mine.”  Hinata smiles shyly.

“Ahhh see!  I shoulda gone with Bugs Bunny!”

Naruto looks at Hinata curiously for a second.  He totally thought she would have put down the Sunset card or Falling in Love card.  He files this thought away for future pondering.

He gets rid of Colin Powell on Sakura, hoping that the smart girl knows who he is, but she doesn’t choose it.  Not that he expected her to.

When it’s Choji’s turn, with Relaxing, the cards are hilariously almost all food-related.  “You guys know me too well,” he laments good-naturedly.  But, he ends up choosing My Best Friend, courtesy of Hinata.  “There’s no one more relaxing than Shikamaru,” he chuckles, and everyone who knows this apparently relaxing guy laughs with him.  

“He’s not relaxing!  He’s lazy!  It _stresses me out_ ,” Ino disagrees loudly, like she’s known unbelievable torment from this Shikamaru dude.

Choji laughs.  “Well, you stress him out, too,” he points out.

Ino shakes her head and flips over her card: Hot.  

“What’s hot, you guys?” she asks with a hint of suggestiveness.

“Oh gods, Ino,” Sakura comments.

Naruto laughs a little, looking at his hand for something “hot.”  It’s apparent that Ino isn’t going to choose a literal card like Inside the Sun.  He throws down Handcuffs, certain that it will get at least a laugh from her.

Ino flips over her cards, reading them out.  “Oh, handcuffs, huh?” she comments with a laugh.  Then she turns over the last one, Firefighters.  “And here’s the winner!”  She holds it up, and to his, and _everyone’s_ , shock, Hinata claims the Hot card.

“Hi _nata_ ,” Ino verbalizes, sounding impressed and surprised.  “You won two in a row!”

The girl just blushes, shrugs, and quickly turns over her green card: Bright.

Naruto doesn’t know what to give her.  It turns out that she’s _good_ at this game.  She has a sense of humor he wasn’t expecting, but just because she plays those cards doesn’t mean she would choose those cards for herself.  But maybe she would?  He could go with something funny, like Inside the Sun.  He could go with something ironic and weird, like Pink Flamingos.  Or he could go with something cute, like Stars.  He looks at her again, trying to decide.

“We’re just waiting for...one more…” Hinata says, looking over the pile of cards before her.

“Naruto,” Sasuke supplies.

“Sorry, almost ready…”  He firms his decision, going with his original gut feeling about her.  Stars it is.

She shuffles the cards together, and begins reading them out carefully, with very little reaction.  Like she’s paying attention to each one, thinking about each one.  When she comes to Stars, she smiles a bit, her finger tapping it thoughtfully.  “Fireworks or Stars,” she wonders aloud.

He’s already mentally patting himself on the back.  And unable to stop himself, he whispers none too subtly in her direction in as convincing a tone he can, “Stars…”

His friends crack up.  

“Well, we know which one’s Naruto’s card,” Karui says.

He ignores them.  “Hinata…” he whispers.

She meets his gaze with an amused look.  

He smiles.  “...Stars…” he whispers again with a raise of his brows.

“Umm…” she replies, unsure.

“Hinata,” a new voice, Fuu’s, joins in.  “Choose Fireworks…”

“Did you put Fireworks down?” Sakura asks.

“No, I just don’t want her to choose Naruto’s.”

Everyone bursts out laughing.

“Yeah, Hinata, choose Fireworks!” Karui seconds.

“Is it yours, Karui?” Choji asks.

“No,” she bluntly replies.

Everyone laughs harder.

Naruto pouts.

“Oh,” Hinata says with a smile on, but her tone is sympathetic.  “I’ll choose Stars, then.”

“Yeah!  In your guys’ face!” Naruto cheers.  

“Aww, she might have chosen mine if you guys didn’t do that!” Ino says unhappily.

“Aw, sorry, Ino,” Fuu says, sounding honestly apologetic.  

Naruto flashes an appreciative smile at Hinata.  “Unlike you meanie-heads, Hinata is _nice_.”

“Yeah, Hinata, you’re too nice.  Look, now Naruto has the same number of cards as you,” Kiba points out.

“Oh.”  She puts on a less-than-happy “oh well” expression.  

“Hey!  Don’t try to make her change her mind!” Naruto argues.

She shakes her head reassuringly, and Naruto settles back.  

The game moves on, and Sasuke plays as expected, choosing the card that is simply the Clever-est (Zippers), which goes to Sakura.  It turns out the two of them have similar senses of humor.

“My turn!” Naruto cheers.  He flips over his green card: Cuddly.  He feels a little disappointed.  It’s kind of a boring adjective.  “Okay, guys, what’s cuddly?”

Cards gather in front of him, and he gives a little smile to Hinata as she places one in front of him.

She looks up at him, and then quickly looks away.

He breathes out.  She gives him this fuzzy, exciting feeling he knows he’s felt before.  The last time was when he thought he and Fuu were getting along really well.  He smashed that feeling down as best he could when Fuu confided that she was gay.  He hopes Hinata isn’t gay.

That would be messed up if he kept on falling for lesbians.  Oh, damn, wait, falling?  He hardly even knows her!

“I think that’s all of them,” Sakura says, unknowingly interrupting his train of thoughts.

“Oh.”  He blinks and counts the cards.  How long was he sitting there, out of it?  He shuffles and finds himself wishing he knew which card was Hinata’s.  He kind of wants to choose it.  He wants to rationalize that it’s because she chose his card, but there’s that nagging feeling now that there’s something more stirring inside him.  He doesn’t know if he likes this feeling.  He hardly even knows her.

He flips the first card over.  “South Park?” he laughs.  “Isn’t that show, like, the opposite of cuddly?”  He smirks as he turns the next one over.  “Rocking chairs...uhh okay I can kinda see that...Gardening!”

“I’m sorry, it’s a throwaway, I didn’t have anything cuddly,” Hinata quickly apologizes.

He looks up.

She’s biting her lip, looking sad.  

“I like gardening.”  He grins, and she looks surprised.

“You like gardening?” Karui asks in a tone that suggests that someone like _him_ and plants could never go together.

“Yup!”

“You’re not just saying that because it’s Hinata’s card?”  Kiba has a brow raised with a teasing expression.

Naruto squints at him, wondering if he’s being that obvious.  But the truth is that he does like gardening.  “It was my mom’s hobby…” he reluctantly begins to explain.

“He gives me tomatoes.”  Sasuke to the rescue.

Naruto smiles a ‘told ya so.’

He flips over the other cards more quickly now.  Puppies, Pillows, Panda Bears.  “A lot of Ps,” he notes aloud.  Finger Painting.  He laughs.  “What?”  Ham Sandwich.  “Cuddling with a sandwich hmm...”  George Washington.  “Another throwaway?” he questions aloud.

“Yeah, sorry,” Kiba admits.

He looks over his options.  The obvious ones would be Puppies and Pillows.  He kind of wants to choose the Puppies.  Who doesn’t choose Puppies?  That’s one of those cards that always wins.

His eyes shift to Gardening.

“It’s between this one and this one,” he announces, picking up Puppies and Gardening.

“What?  Hinata’s card?  That was a throwaway!” Ino argues.

“Hey, what about mine, then?” Kiba inserts jokingly.

“You don’t have to feel like you should choose mine,” Hinata says, her expression one of concern.

Naruto makes a show of considering her words for a second.  “Yeah...but…” he shrugs.  He flips the cards over and shuffles the two a little.  He then does “Eenie Meenie Miney Mo.”

“That’s how you’re choosing?” Sasuke asks.

“Yuuup,” he affirms.   

He flips the card over, aware that he hopes it’s hers.  

Gardening.

He turns a smile at Hinata, who looks surprised and happy, too.

“Nooo!!!!!” Ino shrieks.  “I haven’t won any, and I lost to a throw away card when I was _this_ close?!  Puppies should’ve won!  I should’ve won the last time, too!”

Naruto smiles sheepishly.  “Sorry?”

“Ughhhh…” she groans.

“I’m sorry, Ino…” Hinata says.

“No, no.  It’s not your fault.”  She turns an icy glare at Fuu and Karui.  “It’s your guys’ fault!!”

They laugh their apologies, completely unapologetically.

“Alright, kids!  Food’s ready!” Sakura’s mother calls out.

Choji’s at the grill before the rest of them have even gotten out of their chairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
